Multiple time scale behaviors and network dynamics in liquid methanol

Canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulations of liquid methanol, modeled using a rigid-body, pair-additive potential, are used to compute static distributions and temporal correlations of tagged molecule potential energies as a means of characterizing the liquid state dynamics. The static distribution of tagged molecule potential energies shows a clear multimodal structure with three distinct peaks, similar to those observed previously in water and liquid silica. The multimodality is shown to originate from electrostatic effects, but not from local, hydrogen bond interactions. An interesting outcome of this study is the remarkable similarity in the tagged potential energy power spectra of methanol, water, and silica, despite the differences in the underlying interactions and the dimensionality of the network. All three liquids show a distinct multiple time scale (MTS) regime with a 1/ f (alpha) dependence with a clear positive correlation between the scaling exponent alpha and the diffusivity. The low-frequency limit of the MTS regime is determined by the frequency of crossover to white noise behavior which occurs at approximately 0.1 cm (-1) in the case of methanol under standard temperature and pressure conditions. The power spectral regime above 200 cm (-1) in all three systems is dominated by resonances due to localized vibrations, such as librations. The correlation between alpha and the diffusivity in all three liquids appears to be related to the strength of the coupling between the localized motions and the larger length/time scale network reorganizations. Thus, the time scales associated with network reorganization dynamics appear to be qualitatively similar in these systems, despite the fact that water and silica both display diffusional anomalies but methanol does not.     

Development of extended release coevaporates and coprecipitates of promethazine HCl with acrylic polymers: formulation considerations

The present investigation studied a novel extended release system of promethazine hydrochloride (PHC) with acrylic polymers Eudragit RLPO and Eudragit RS100 in different weight ratios (1 : 1 and 1 : 5) using coevaporation and coprecipitation techniques. Solid dispersions were characterized by Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as solubility and in vitro dissolution studies in 0.1 n HCl (pH 1.2), double distilled water and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Adsorption test from drug solution to solid polymers were also performed. Selected solid dispersion system was subjected to direct compression and compressed tablets were evaluated for in vitro dissolution studies. The progressive disappearance of drug peaks in thermotropic profiles of coevaporates were related to increasing amount of polymers while SEM studies suggested homogenous dispersion of drug in polymer. Eudragit RLPO had a greater adsorptive capacity than Eudragit RS100 and thus its coevaporates in 1 : 5 ratio exhibited higher dissolution rate with 91.90% drug release for 12 h. Among different formulations, tablets prepared by Eudragit RLPO coevaporates (1 : 5) displayed extended release of drug for 12 h with 90.87% release followed by zero order kinetics (r(2)=0.9808).     

A discontinuous interpolated finite volume approximation of semilinear elliptic optimal control problems

In this article, we describe a discontinuous finite volume method with interpolated coefficients for the numerical approximation of the distributed optimal control problem governed by a class of semilinear elliptic equations with control constraints. The proposed distributed control problem involves three unknown variable: control, state and costate. For the approximation of control, we have adopted three different methodologies: variational discretization, piecewise constant and piecewise linear discretization, while the approximation of state and costate variables is based on discontinuous piecewise linear polynomials. As the resulted scheme is non‐symmetric, optimize‐then‐discretize approach is used to approximate the control problem. Optimal a priori error estimates in suitable natural norms for state, costate and control variables are derived. Moreover, numerical experiments are presented to support the derived theoretical results. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 33: 2090–2113, 2017     

Synthesis of iron oxide nanorods via chemical scavenging and phase transformations of intermediates at ambient conditions

Chemically induced shape transformations of isotropic seeds, comprised of iron oxyhydroxides and iron oxide borate into nanorods, is reported. Transient growth studies show that the nanorods are formed via phase transformation and aggregation of various metastable species. Addition of tetra-methyl-ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to the in situ synthesized seeds ensures a typical reaction pathway that favors formation of magnetite (Fe ₃ O ₄) via the steps of chemical etching, phase transformation of intermediates, and crystal consolidation. Whereas, with addition of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), either magnetite (Fe ₃ O ₄) or a mixture of (γ-Fe ₂ O ₃ + α-FeOOH) is obtained. The shape with both the additives is always that of nanorods. When the seeds treated with TMAH were aged in an ultrasonication bath, rods with almost twice the length and diameter (length = 2800 nm, diameter = 345 nm) are obtained as compared to the sample aged without ultrasonication (length = 1535 nm, diameter = 172 nm). The morphology of nanostructures depending upon other experimental conditions such as, aging the sample at 60 ^°C, seeds synthesized under ultrasonication/ stirring or externally added are also examined and discussed in detail. All the samples show high coercivity and strong ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature and should be promising candidates as ferro-fluids for various applications.     

In silico studies,synthesis and anticancer activity of novel diphenyl ether-based pyridine derivatives

Molecular Diversity - A series of novel 2-amino-4-(3-hydroxy-4-phenoxyphenyl)-6-(4-substituted phenyl) nicotinonitriles were synthesized and evaluated against HepG2, A-549 and Vero cell lines....     

Spermidine Prevents Ethanol and Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Hepatic Injury in Mice

To date, there is no effective treatment for alcoholic liver disease, despite its prevalence world-wide. Because alcohol consumption is associated with oxidative stress-induced liver injury and pro-inflammatory responses, naturally occurring antioxidants and/or anti-inflammatories may be potential therapeutics. Spermidine is an abundant, ubiquitous polyamine that has been found to display strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. To further investigate whether spermidine is an effective intervention for alcohol-induced liver disease, we examined its hepatoprotective properties using a two-hit, chronic ethanol and acute lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse model of liver injury. We determined that spermidine administration prevented ethanol and LPS-induced increases in liver injury using plasma ALT as a readout. Furthermore, histological analysis of tissue from control and treated animals revealed that the pathology associated with ethanol and LPS treatment was prevented in mice additionally treated with spermidine. As predicted, spermidine also prevented ethanol and LPS-induced oxidative stress by decreasing the levels of both reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation. We further determined that spermidine treatment prevented the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) by blocking the phosphorylation of the inhibitory protein, IκB, thereby preventing expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Finally, by measuring expression of known markers of hepatic stellate cell activation and monitoring collagen deposition, we observed that spermidine also prevented alcohol and LPS-induced hepatic fibrosis. Together, our results indicate that spermidine is an antioxidant thereby conferring anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects associated with alcoholic liver injury.     

Functionalized silica nanoparticles for trapping Pb2+ ions via diazo‐azomethine scaffolds

Diazo‐azomethine coated silica sorbent for the adsorption of Pb²⁺ ions has been fabricated. The sorbent was obtained by one‐pot synthesis of silica nanoparticles in the presence of diazo‐azomethine molecules possessing silatranyl side chains for grafting via covalent bond formation. The functionalized silica nanoparticles exhibited characteristic physicochemical properties of diazo‐azomethine scaffolds as determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopies and thermogravimetric analysis. Various adsorption parameters such as pH, weight of adsorbent, time taken for equilibration and recovery of lead ions were optimized using a batch method. The sorbent showed high adsorption capacity for lead ions of 460.4 mg g^?1 at pH = 4. The effect of various competing ions on the adsorption of lead ions was studied and interference was removed by using a masking agent. The sorbent can be regenerated and reused, and is compatible for the adsorption of Pb²⁺ ions from green leafy vegetables. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terphenyl based ‘Turn On’ fluorescent sensor for mercury

New terphenyl-based derivative 4 with pyrene as a fluorophore has been synthesized and examined for its cation recognition abilities toward various cations by NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results show that it has very high binding affinity (log β = 5.12) and selectivity for mercury. A fluorescence enhancement of 375% was observed for the 4-Hg²⁺ system in THF. A Hg²⁺ selective electrode (ISE) was also formed which showed excellent selectivity over all the other cations tested. The lower limit of detection is 2.1 × 10⁻⁶ M.     

Molecular Diversity from the L-Proline-Catalyzed,Three-Component Reactions of 4-Hydroxycoumarin,Aldehyde, and 3-Aminopyrazole or 1,3-Dimethyl-6-aminouracil

The three-component reaction of 4-hydroxycoumarin, aldehyde, and aminopyrazole in the presence of a catalytic amount of L-proline in ethanol under reflux conditions provided the cyclized product (dihydrochromeno[4,3-b]pyrazolo[4,3-e]pyridine-6(7H)-one), whereas under similar reaction conditions, replacing aminopyrazole by 1,3-dimethyl-6-aminouracil provided the acyclic three-component product (6-amino-5-((4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)methyl)-1,3-dimethylpyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione). This method is metal free and atom economical, and avoids column chromatographic purification as all the products can be purified by recrystallization.     

Highly regioselective ring-opening of aziridines with arenesulfinates on water: a facile access to β-amino/vinyl sulfones

We have developed a LiBr catalyzed efficient synthesis of β-amino sulfones from readily available aziridines and sodium sulfinates in good to excellent yields. The synthetic potential of β-amino sulfones has also been demonstrated by their facile conversion to the corresponding vinyl sulfones. The use of water as reaction media, atom-economy and isolation of products by simple filtration in the case of solid β-amino sulfones are certain green virtues of the synthetic protocol.